The Two-Way

10:28 am

Wed July 18, 2012

Reports That Gov. Christie Will Give Keynote Tamp Down Veep Talk

News that first broke in the New York Post would seem to signal that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie isn't going to be the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee.

The Post reports that "the word is going out quietly to Republican activists across New Jersey. ... Gov. Chris Christie is going to be giving the keynote speech" at the GOP convention in Tampa next month.

NBC News, which says it has also been told that Christie will be giving that high-profile address, notes that being the keynote speaker "sometimes serves as a launching pad for political figures with ambitions of higher office" — remember then-state Sen. Barack Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic convention. But, the network adds, "typically, the keynote speaker is separate from the vice presidential nominee, who, like the presidential nominee, speaks on separate nights."

NPR's Liz Halloran previously reported on the pluses and minuses of putting Christie on the ticket:

Upside: Popular national figure; blunt personality appealing.

Downside: Popular national figure; blunt personality appealing — which has the potential to overshadow the candidate, a la McCain/Palin in 2008.